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The growing number of stroke survivors in the US, especially among women, makes understanding sex-specific trends in recurrent strokes crucial. Yet, such data are rare. We estimated 20-year sex-specific trends in recurrence in a population-based stroke study. Methods: We included first-ever ischemic strokes (IS) ascertained between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2019 from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) Project in South Texas. Time to recurrence was calculated from first-ever IS to recurrence, death, or December 31, 2019, whichever came first. We estimated the cumulative incidence function (CIF) of recurrence by a multivariable Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard model, which accounted for the competing risk of death. An interaction term between calendar year and sex was used to generate 1-year and 5-year sex-specific trends in risks of recurrence between 2000-2019 from the fitted CIF. Results: Among the 5,752 IS (median age 69, 49.9% women), 786 (13.7%) had recurrences over a median of 7.6 years of follow-up and 2,653 (46.1%) died over a median of 3.7 years of follow-up. Women had significantly higher adjusted 1-year and 5-year risks of recurrence than men in 2000 (Figure). One-year and 5-year risk of recurrence declined in both sexes over time but women experienced larger declines such that the risks were similar between both sexes around 2009 but higher among men after that. The largest sex difference in recurrence was in the 5-year risk in 2000 with women having 5.0% (1.5%-8.4%) higher risk. Conclusions: The welcoming trends in recurrent strokes suggest successful secondary stroke prevention, especially in women, where greater declines were noted.

PURPOSE: Drug therapy for cancer is a high-risk, high-volume clinical intervention that requires interprofessional teams. Given the complexity of anticancer drug therapy and safety concerns, an interdisciplinary team developed a novel training program for oncology registered nurses and pharmacists to improve cancer drug safety. METHODS: Participants completed preworkshop learning assessments and received access to web-based modules on six topics: hazardous drug handling, drug extravasation, hypersensitivity reaction management, sepsis recognition, immune checkpoint inhibitor toxicities, and oral oncolytic adherence. In a 7-hour workshop, participants applied module content in interactive exercises and high-fidelity simulations. Preworkshop and postworkshop questionnaires assessed changes in knowledge and confidence in each topic. Program satisfaction and changes to clinical practice or policies were assessed 3 months after the workshop. RESULTS: Two hundred ninety-two nurses and 82 pharmacists applied to participate, and 103 (35%) and 44 (54%) have participated, respectively. Long-term follow-up data were available on 133 (90%) participants. Change scores in confidence to meet program objectives increased between pre- and postworkshop (range of increase 0.6-0.8, P < .01). Knowledge scores increased significantly between pre- and postworkshop (average improvement of 3.2 points, P < .01). Overall program satisfaction was high (mean 5.0, standard deviation [0.2] on a five-point scale). Seventy-seven (60%) reported that they had made at least one clinical practice or institutional policy change at 3 months. CONCLUSION: An interprofessional education program with online modules, in-person interactive sessions, and simulation activities is a promising strategy to deliver cancer drug safety content to practicing oncology clinicians.

Aim: We sought to understand how early adopters used pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing for treating depression and attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Patients & methods: We conducted a phone survey with prescribers who had previously ordered an Informed PGx (Progenity, Inc., MI, USA) test. Results: We identified 1037 prescribers in our sampling period. Respondents (n = 64) were predominantly female (61.5%) and in pediatrics (n = 42; 64.6%). PGx testing was used for multiple scenarios (mean 3.3 ± 1.6); the most common was after no response to medication was observed (80%; 51/64). Most respondents state that test results typically reveal an altered metabolizer status. Conclusion: PGx test results ordered by early adopters often reveal altered metabolizers which leads them to change the depression/ADHD medication regimen. Future work should evaluate the clinical utility of PGx testing for depression/ADHD treatment.

Purpose A focus on oral medications for patients receiving care from both oncologists and primary care providers elicits an opportunity for improvement in patient outcomes. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility and appropriateness of a comprehensive medication review (CMR) by a primary care pharmacist in a population of patients with cancer and chronic conditions. Methods Adult patients who received both cancer and primary care at Michigan Medicine, received active systemic cancer treatment, and had a comorbid condition of diabetes, hypertension, chronic heart failure, depression, and/or anxiety were eligible to receive a CMR by the primary care clinical pharmacist. Data collected included number eligible for the CMR (feasibility), patient demographics, medication-related problems (MRPs) and medication interventions (appropriate), number of patients requiring follow-up with the clinical pharmacist or physician, and pre/post-intervention changes in A1c and BP, as applicable. Results Of the 96 patients that met inclusion criteria, 55 patients (57%) received a CMR. Pharmacists provided 66 instances of patient education and identified 22 medication-related problems (MRPs) in 15 (27%) of patients. After CMRs were completed, 22 patients (40%) were referred to primary care pharmacists or physician providers for ongoing care. Conclusion A CMR was feasible and appropriate for patients with chronic conditions receiving treatment for cancer.

BACKGROUND: Clinical services provided by pharmacists embedded in practices can improve patient outcomes within the primary care setting. Little is known about whether physician organizations (POs) will retain the services of clinical pharmacists after outside funding for a statewide implementation program is ended. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a statewide program, Michigan Pharmacists Transforming Care and Quality (MPTCQ), that incorporated pharmacists within 17 POs. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted using data collected from June 2016 to September 2018 from primary care clinical pharmacist encounters in POs participating in MPTCQ. Process outcomes included the number of participating POs, patient encounters, and average visits per patient. Analyses at the encounter level were stratified by 2 encounter types: disease state management (DSM) or comprehensive medication review (CMR). Separately by encounter type, pharmacist effect was described by the number, type, and reasons for medication changes, as well as medication adherence and cost barriers found and addressed. Clinical outcomes included hemoglobin A1c and blood pressure change. Sustainability and patient satisfaction of pharmacists providing clinical services are reported. RESULTS: Across 17 POs, 27 pharmacists participated in the MPTCQ program. Pharmacists completed 24,523 patient encounters for DSM with 5,942 patients, with an average of 5 visits per patient with diabetes and 2 visits for hypertension. Pharmacists made 15,153 therapeutic medication changes during visits for diabetes and hypertension, with approximately 70% related to efficacy. Pharmacists completed 4,203 CMR visits for 3,092 patients. During CMR visits, 1,296 therapeutic medication changes were recommended. Problems with medication cost were identified in 13% of CMR visits. Blood pressure and A1c levels decreased in patients managed by pharmacists. In 157 patients surveyed, 87% rated their pharmacists' care as excellent. Sixteen POs retained their pharmacists at the end of funding. CONCLUSIONS: A statewide provider-payer partnership successfully integrated and retained primary care pharmacists within POs. Pharmacists in the MPTCQ program contributed to improvements in disease control by changing medications to improve patient clinical outcomes. DISCLOSURES: Support for MPTCQ was provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) as part of the BCBSM Value Partnerships program. Coe was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number KL2TR002241. Although BCBSM and MPTCQ work collaboratively, the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of BCBSM or any of its employees. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

To address the Quintuple Aim of health care improvement, the profession of pharmacy is on the verge of a practice transformation that incorporates continuous learning from medication-related data into existing clinical and dispensing roles. The pharmacists’ patient care process (PPCP) enables a learning pharmacy practice through the systematic and standardized collection of real-world medication-related data from pharmacists’ patient care activities. A learning pharmacy practice continually generates data-powered discoveries as a byproduct of PPCP interactions. In turn, these discoveries improve our medication knowledge while upgrading our predictive powers, thus helping all people achieve optimal health outcomes. Establishing a practice management system connected to the PPCP means that data are generated from every PPCP interaction, combined with existing data, and analyzed by teams of pharmacists and data scientists. The resulting new knowledge is then incorporated into all future PPCP interactions in the form of predictions coupled to actionable advice. The primary purpose of a learning pharmacy practice is to combine the power of predictive modeling with evidence-based best practices to achieve and sustain population-level health improvements. This purpose is achieved by systematically optimizing individual medication use in an equitable manner on a global scale.

To describe the national delivery of medication therapy management (MTM) to Medicare beneficiaries in 2013 and 2014.Descriptive cross-sectional study using the 100% sample of 2013 and 2014 Part D MTM data files. We quantified descriptive statistics (counts and percentages, in addition to means and standard deviations) to summarize the delivery of these services and compare delivery between 2013 and 2014.Medicare beneficiaries eligible for MTM increased from 4,281,733 in 2013 to 4,552,547 in 2014. Among eligible beneficiaries, the number and percentage who were offered a comprehensive medication review (CMR) increased from 3,473,004 (81.1%) to 4,394,822 (96.5%), and beneficiaries receiving a CMR increased from 526,203 (12.3%) to 767,286 (16.9%). In 2014, CMRs were most frequently delivered by telephone (83.2%) and provided by either a plan sponsor (29.0%) or an MTM vendor in-house pharmacist (35.0%). In 2014, pharmacists provided 93.5% of all CMRs, and other providers (e.g., nurses and physicians) provided 6.5% of CMRs. Few patients who received a CMR received more than 1 within the same year (2.2% in 2014). Medication therapy problem (MTP) resolution among patients receiving a CMR stayed roughly the same between 2013 and 2014 (19.2% vs. 18.7%, respectively; P0.001). Finally, most beneficiaries (96.9% in 2014) received a targeted medication review, regardless of whether a CMR was offered or provided.More than 4 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Part D MTM in both 2013 and 2014. However, less than 20% of eligible beneficiaries received a CMR during those years, and rates of MTP resolution were low. Future evaluation of Part D MTM delivery should examine changes in eligibility criteria and delivery over time to inform MTM policy and changes in practice.

Gang Fang,1 Stacy Cooper Bailey,2 Izabela E Annis,1 Michael K Paasche-Orlow,3 Michael S Wolf,2 Laurie T Martin,4 Michael Emch,5 M Alan Brookhart,6 Karen B Farris7 1Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; 2Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; 3Section of General Internal Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; 4RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA, USA; 5Department of Geography and Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; 6Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; 7College of Pharmacy, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USACorrespondence: Gang FangDivision of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2202, Kerr Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7573, USATel +1 919-966-7517Fax +1 919-966-8486Email gang_fang@unc.eduPurpose: Individual measures of health literacy are not feasible for administration on a large scale, yet estimates of community-level health literacy in the US recently became available. We sought to investigate whether community-level health literacy estimates are associated with the initiation of oral antihyperglycemic agents (OHA) and the use of standard preventive care services among older adults with newly diagnosed diabetes.Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 169,758 patients, ≥65 years old with hypertension and newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes using 2007–2011 data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chronic Conditions Warehouse. We examined the relationship between community-level health literacy estimates and initiation of OHA, receipt of flu shots, eye exams, Hemoglobin A1c tests, and lipid tests within 12 months post diabetes diagnosis.Results: Patients living in communities with above basic health literacy (vs. basic/below basic) were 15% more likely to initiate OHA (Hazard Ratio=1.15; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.18). After classifying the health literacy distribution as quintiles, the analysis revealed a dose–response relationship with OHA initiation that plateaued at the third and fourth quintiles and declined at the fifth quintile. Individuals residing in communities with higher health literacy were more likely to participate in preventive care services (relative risk ranged from 1.09 for lipid test [95% CI 1.07–1.11] to 1.43 for flu shot [95% CI 1.41–1.46]).Conclusion: Community-level health literacy estimates were associated with the initiation of OHA and uptake of standard preventive care services in older adults. Community-level health literacy may help to inform targeted diabetes education and support efforts.Keywords: health literacy, diabetes mellitus, adherence, preventive care

Purpose There are growing concerns about patients' adherence to oral anticancer agents (OAAs), and the need for patients to engage in self-management of OAA-related side effects. We assessed associations among adherence, severity of side effects, and effectiveness of self-management of side effects in patients taking capecitabine. Methods Adherence to capecitabine at 6 weeks was measured by the Medication Event Monitoring System among 50 patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Severity of side effects related to capecitabine and effectiveness of self-management of side effects were captured using the Modified Self-Care Diary at the time of enrollment and weekly for 6 weeks. Spearman's correlation, Mann-Whitney U-tests, and multiple linear regression were conducted, p Results Overall mean adherence rate was 85.4±14.1%. Adherence rate was not significantly correlated to the mean severity of total side effects at any time point and was correlated with the mean effectiveness of self-management of total side effects only at week 2 (rho=0.29, p=0.04). However, adherence rate was associated with the mean severity of one specific side effect, diarrhea, at 6 weeks (rho=0.36, p=0.01) and marginally correlated to the mean effectiveness of self-management of diarrhea at 6 weeks (rho=0.28, p=0.05). Mean severity of diarrhea at 6 weeks was an independent predictor of adherence rate (b=4.97, p=0.01), with the control of age (b=0.52, p=0.002), number of outpatient medications (b=1.12, p=0.007), health literacy (b=2.53, p=0.04), diagnosis of colorectal cancer (b=11.6, p=0.03), and capecitabine in combination with other chemotherapies (b=16.8, p=0.001) in the model. Conclusion This pilot study suggests ongoing examination of both severity and effectiveness of self-management of side effects in future studies of adherence to OAAs is merited. There is a need for future studies with larger sample sizes that explore the complex relationships among adherence, severity of side effects, and effectiveness of self-management of side effects in OAA therapy.

Objectives To propose a metric evaluating the quality of comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs), and to discuss the optimal setting for CMR delivery. Summary First, we provide a current assessment of the quality of CMRs performed in community, payer, and health system/clinic settings, with recommended opportunities for improvement. Thereafter, a companion metric for CMR quality is discussed, because this is critical to ensuring that patients are not just receiving CMR services, but that CMRs reflect evidence-based recommendations supporting optimal patient outcomes. Conclusion Based on the data currently available, accessibility to electronic medical records would enhance patient-specific recommendations to optimize CMR delivery and patient outcomes. Future studies may help to identify additional factors, such as pharmacist-physician collaboration in clinic and use of evidence-based recommendations, that can further enhance CMR quality.

INTRODUCTION: The Medicare Part D medication therapy management (MTM) program positions pharmacists to optimize beneficiaries’ medications and improve care. Little is known regarding Part D MTM delivery by community pharmacists and other pharmacist provider types. OBJECTIVES: To (1) characterize Medicare Part D MTM delivery by community pharmacists, (2) compare MTM delivery by community pharmacists to other pharmacists, and (3) generate hypotheses for future research. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study using merged data from a 20% random sample of Medicare beneficiary enrollment data with a 100% sample of recently available 2014 Part D MTM files was conducted. Andersen’s Behavioral Model was applied to describe MTM delivery across beneficiary characteristics. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to compare delivery of MTM between community and other pharmacist providers. RESULTS: Among beneficiaries sampled, community pharmacists provided comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) to 22% (n=26,337) of beneficiaries receiving at least one CMR. Almost half (49.4%) were provided face-to-face. Across pharmacist cohorts, median days to CMR offer of post-MTM program enrollment were within the 60-day policy requirement. The community pharmacist cohort had fewer days from CMR offer to receipt (median 47 days). Community pharmacists provided more medication therapy problem (MTP) recommendations (mean [SD] of 1.8 [3.5]; p

OBJECTIVES: Race differences in contraceptive use and in geographic access to pharmacies are well established. We explore race differences in characteristics of nearby pharmacies that are likely to facilitate (or not) contraceptive purchase. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted analyses with two geocode-linked datasets: (1) the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) project, a study of a random sample of 1,003 women ages 18–19 living in a county in Michigan in 2008–09; and (2) the Community Pharmacy Survey, which collected data on 82 pharmacies in the county in which the RDSL study was conducted. RESULTS: Although young African-American women tend to live closer to pharmacies than their white counterparts (1.2 miles to the nearest pharmacy for African Americans vs. 2.1 miles for whites), those pharmacies tend to be independent pharmacies (43% vs. 12%) that are open fewer hours per week (64.6 vs. 77.8) and have fewer female pharmacists (17% vs. 50%), fewer patient brochures on contraception (2% vs. 5%), more difficult access to condoms (49% on the shelf vs. 85% behind glass, behind the counter, or not available), and fewer self-check-out options (3% vs. 9%). More African-American than white women live near African-American pharmacists (8% vs. 3%). These race differences are regardless of poverty, measured by the receipt of public assistance. CONCLUSIONS: Relative to white women, African-American women may face a “contraception desert,” wherein they live nearer to pharmacies, but those pharmacies have characteristics that may impede the purchase of contraception.

58 Background: The oncology pharmacist role has evolved to address implications of newer cancer therapies by increased integration in direct patient care and management of cancer therapy side effects and adherence. Despite the ability of oncology pharmacists to provide high-value, high-quality care to patients with cancer, it remains difficult for community oncology practices to justify the cost of the pharmacist. The purpose of this study is to characterize a model, Pharmacists Optimizing Oncology Care Excellence in Michigan (POEM), that supports the integration of clinical oncology pharmacists into community practices via financial support to the practices, clinical support to the pharmacist team, and outcomes assessment. The results will provide insight into how pharmacists support patient care and how to substantiate a pharmacist in practices. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective analysis was conducted between October 2020 – March 2022. POEM pharmacists received support in the development of collaborative practice agreements, billing guidance, and ongoing oncology continuing education. Practices received support via a percentage of salary support for the pharmacist the first 3 years and value-based reimbursement for participation. A standardized method for collecting patient demographics, pharmacist encounter characteristics, and intervention information was created via RedCap. Patients receiving care by the pharmacist were provided a 4-item survey to rate their experience. Results: As of March 2022, POEM has 6 clinical oncology pharmacists representing 8 physician organizations, 24 oncology clinics, and 72 physicians. 1944 patients have been seen via 4296 encounters and 4380 interventions. 49% of patients were female, 93% white, and 74% > 60 years. The primary reasons for pharmacist care were treatment with oral anticancer agents (OAA) (52%), non-immunotherapy IV (22%), and immunotherapy (20%). Pharmacists recorded an average of 77 patient encounters/week over the last year and 108/week over the past quarter. 47% of these encounters were billed using care management codes. Additionally, pharmacists recorded an average of 82 interventions/week over the past year and 101/week over the last quarter. Interventions were Education and Referrals (49%), Medication Modification (24%), and Comprehensive Medication Review or Medication Reconciliation (20%). Patients were satisfied with the pharmacists’ care and felt it was important to meet with a pharmacist before beginning their cancer treatment. Conclusions: Early results indicate positive patient experiences from education sessions and medication interventions to improve patient symptoms. Future outcome analyses will quantify the return on investment of clinical pharmacist integration into oncology community practices by measuring pre- and post-intervention healthcare utilization and patient clinical outcomes.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain (CBT-CP) is a safe and effective alternative to opioid analgesics. Because CBT-CP requires multiple sessions and therapists are scarce, many patients have limited access or fail to complete treatment.To determine if a CBT-CP program that personalizes patient treatment using reinforcement learning, a field of artificial intelligence (AI), and interactive voice response (IVR) calls is noninferior to standard telephone CBT-CP and saves therapist time.This was a randomized noninferiority, comparative effectiveness trial including 278 patients with chronic back pain from the Department of Veterans Affairs health system (recruitment and data collection from July 11, 2017-April 9, 2020). More patients were randomized to the AI-CBT-CP group than to the control (1.4:1) to maximize the system's ability to learn from patient interactions.All patients received 10 weeks of CBT-CP. For the AI-CBT-CP group, patient feedback via daily IVR calls was used by the AI engine to make weekly recommendations for either a 45-minute or 15-minute therapist-delivered telephone session or an individualized IVR-delivered therapist message. Patients in the comparison group were offered 10 therapist-delivered telephone CBT-CP sessions (45 minutes/session).The primary outcome was the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ; range 0-24), measured at 3 months (primary end point) and 6 months. Secondary outcomes included pain intensity and pain interference. Consensus guidelines were used to identify clinically meaningful improvements for responder analyses (eg, a 30% improvement in RMDQ scores and pain intensity). Data analyses were performed from April 2021 to May 2022.The study population included 278 patients (mean [SD] age, 63.9 [12.2] years; 248 [89.2%] men; 225 [81.8%] White individuals). The 3-month mean RMDQ score difference between AI-CBT-CP and standard CBT-CP was -0.72 points (95% CI, -2.06 to 0.62) and the 6-month difference was -1.24 (95% CI, -2.48 to 0); noninferiority criterion were met at both the 3- and 6-month end points (P .001 for both). A greater proportion of patients receiving AI-CBT-CP had clinically meaningful improvements at 6 months as indicated by RMDQ (37% vs 19%; P = .01) and pain intensity scores (29% vs 17%; P = .03). There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes. Pain therapy using AI-CBT-CP required less than half of the therapist time as standard CBT-CP.The findings of this randomized comparative effectiveness trial indicated that AI-CBT-CP was noninferior to therapist-delivered telephone CBT-CP and required substantially less therapist time. Interventions like AI-CBT-CP could allow many more patients to be served effectively by CBT-CP programs using the same number of therapists.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02464449.

Aim: We sought to explore how early adopters use pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing for treating depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Patients & methods: Prescribers of the Informed PGx (Progenity, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA) test completed a phone survey assessing use of PGx testing for different scenarios. We conducted a qualitative thematic text analysis of transcribed audio recordings of open-ended responses (n = 62). Results: PGx testing was used when treating multiple comorbidities or resistant disease, and to ease patients’ concerns with future therapy. Use of PGx testing is influenced by insurance coverage, interpretability of results and results turnaround time. Conclusion: Prescribers used PGx tests to modify medications for complex patients with depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other disorders to alleviate concerns related to adverse effects and lack of effectiveness.

BACKGROUND The successful management of heart failure (HF) involves guideline-based medical therapy as well as self-management behavior. As a result, the management of HF is moving toward a proactive real-time technological model of assisting patients with monitoring and self-management. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of enhanced self-management via a mobile app intervention on health-related quality of life, self-management, and HF readmissions. METHODS A single-center randomized controlled trial was performed. Participants older than 45 years and admitted for acute decompensated HF or recently discharged in the past 4 weeks were included. The intervention group (“app group”) used a mobile app, and the intervention prompted daily self-monitoring and promoted self-management. The control group (“no-app group”) received usual care. The primary outcome was the change in Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) score from baseline to 6 and 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes were the Self-Care Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) questionnaire score and recurrent HF admissions. RESULTS A total of 83 participants were enrolled and completed all baseline assessments. Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups except for the prevalence of ischemic HF. The app group had a reduced MLHFQ at 6 weeks (mean 37.5, SD 3.5 vs mean 48.2, SD 3.7; P=.04) but not at 12 weeks (mean 44.2, SD 4 vs mean 45.9, SD 4; P=.78), compared to the no-app group. There was no effect of the app on the SCHFI at 6 or 12 weeks. The time to first HF readmission was not statistically different between the app group and the no-app group (app group 11/42, 26% vs no-app group 12/41, 29%; hazard ratio 0.89, 95% CI 0.39-2.02; P=.78) over 12 weeks. CONCLUSIONS The adaptive mobile app intervention, which focused on promoting self-monitoring and self-management, improved the MLHFQ at 6 weeks but did not sustain its effects at 12 weeks. No effect was seen on HF self-management measured by self-report. Further research is needed to enhance engagement in the app for a longer period and to determine if the app can reduce HF readmissions in a larger study. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03149510; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03149510

Background Quality ratings for health plans and health services have become increasingly available to patients. Objective We sought to explore older adults’ understanding of hypothetical community pharmacy report cards and the information they valued on the report card. Methods We recruited participants aged 50 years or older to complete a 59-question telephone survey. The participants reviewed 3 different pairs of report cards, which represented a hypothetical pharmacy, and each pair contained different quality metrics. The participants identified which pharmacy of the pair they preferred, and this served as the primary outcome. We asked the participants to rate the level of importance (4-point unidirectional scale, not at all to very important) of the star ratings, source of information, and quality metrics. We also gathered information about the participants personal experiences with medications and pharmacy services, their self-reported health, health literacy, health numeracy, and demographics. The frequency that the pharmacy with higher quality metrics was selected was reported. We used logistic regression to examine factors associated with correctly identifying the highest quality pharmacy for all 3 sets of report cards. Results Most participants (n = 152) correctly identified all 3 (n = 120, 79.0%) report cards for pharmacies with higher quality metrics. The source of the information, individual quality metrics, and star ratings were all perceived as moderately or very important by most participants. Ratings of importance were strongly correlated (r, 0.70–1.00). Conclusion More than 75% were able to correctly identify all 3 report cards with higher quality ratings. Most participants believed that the source of the information, the individual quality metrics, and the star rating were all important. Research is needed to explore to what extent patients would use these types of quality metric report cards to make decisions about where to obtain their medications.

Purpose: ASCO has worked to facilitate the improvement in quality oncology care via the development of the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI). The extent to which the ASCO QOPI identifies areas in which pharmacists may enhance care is not known. These findings are important, as pharmacists are an integral part of the care team, providing direct clinical care in addition to medication use guidelines and practice-based policies. In addition, high-performing practices may receive reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Methods: Three pharmacists reviewed 200 QOPI measures for potential pharmacist involvement. We used the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Scope of Practice document and a validated summary of services provided by board-certified oncology pharmacists to identify which practice domains and pharmacy services would best fit the care provided by the selected QOPI measures. Results: A total of 177 QOPI measures were analyzed. Potential areas of pharmacist impact were identified in 67 (38%) of the included metrics. Measures largely related to optimizing drug therapy through the development and implementation of pharmacy guidelines. Patient counseling and symptom management are services that best described the majority of QOPI measures deemed actionable by a pharmacist. We also found that several QOPI measures pharmacists can intervene upon overlap with metrics currently assessed for reimbursement via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Conclusion: Oncology pharmacists are uniquely positioned to improve the quality of care provided to patients with cancer within the team-based setting.

Background: Although paclitaxel remains one of the most efficacious and commonly used agents in the treatment of breast cancer, it can cause a number of side effects. Decisions to delay, decrease, or discontinue treatment are made based on the severity of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which is not objectively measured but relies on patient's accurately reporting symptoms to their clinical team. There is some concern that patients do not accurately or completely report CIPN symptoms during treatment. A previous study reported that 3 of 24 patients (12.5%) considered or could understand another patient's decision to under-report CIPN symptoms to avoid treatment disruption. The objective of this follow-up study was to determine whether under-reporting occurred and to understand patient perspectives on topics previously found relevant to a patient's decision to under-report CIPN. Methods: Ten patients with early stage breast cancer who received adjuvant paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 for up to 12 weeks, who had no prior neuropathy or neurotoxic chemotherapy participated in a recorded, semi-structured, phone-based interview that followed an interview guide designed to cover topics relevant to patient under-reporting Themes identified in patient perceptions of objectives found relevant to under reportingObjectiveResultPatient Understanding1. Patients had consistent descriptions of their expectations for CIPN prior to treatment. 2. Understanding of the long-term potential of CIPN varied among patients.Patient Education1. Patients used a variety of sources to find information about CIPN, with the most commonly used sources being medical staff and patient handouts.Patient Input1. Patients agree on the importance of reporting side effects, but not to what extent. 2. Patients felt included in the treatment decision-making process, but some felt the doctor ultimately made the decision. 3. Providers may plan an important role in the extent to which patients report their symptoms.Treatment Cycles1. Patients recognized that they may not complete all 12 cycles, but were determined to do so.Perception Changes1. Before treatment, patients are much more focused on efficacy and were not particularly concerned with side effects. 2. During treatment, patients reflected on their desire to complete treatment and the tolerability of the side effects they were experiencing. 3. After treatment, patients felt they should have asked more questions before starting treatment. . The interviews were then transcribed and qualitatively analyzed using NVivo software to identify common themes. Results: No patients in this study admitted to under-reporting neuropathy. Themes that emerged from the interviews are presented in Table 1. Conclusion: Insight as to how patients perceive various aspects of paclitaxel treatment revealed that comfort level with providers, inclusion in the decision-making process, and encouragement to fully disclose all symptoms played an important role when patients considered whether to report adverse effects. Future research may focus on whether a lack of health literacy and/or health care related work experience predisposes to CIPN under-reporting. Citation Format: Hertz DL, Krumbach E, Nobles B, Erickson S, Farris KB. The role of patient perceptions in under reporting chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-06.

Background The successful management of heart failure (HF) involves guideline-based medical therapy as well as self-management behavior. As a result, the management of HF is moving toward a proactive real-time technological model of assisting patients with monitoring and self-management. Objective The aim of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of enhanced self-management via a mobile app intervention on health-related quality of life, self-management, and HF readmissions. Methods A single-center randomized controlled trial was performed. Participants older than 45 years and admitted for acute decompensated HF or recently discharged in the past 4 weeks were included. The intervention group (“app group”) used a mobile app, and the intervention prompted daily self-monitoring and promoted self-management. The control group (“no-app group”) received usual care. The primary outcome was the change in Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) score from baseline to 6 and 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes were the Self-Care Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) questionnaire score and recurrent HF admissions. Results A total of 83 participants were enrolled and completed all baseline assessments. Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups except for the prevalence of ischemic HF. The app group had a reduced MLHFQ at 6 weeks (mean 37.5, SD 3.5 vs mean 48.2, SD 3.7; P=.04) but not at 12 weeks (mean 44.2, SD 4 vs mean 45.9, SD 4; P=.78), compared to the no-app group. There was no effect of the app on the SCHFI at 6 or 12 weeks. The time to first HF readmission was not statistically different between the app group and the no-app group (app group 11/42, 26% vs no-app group 12/41, 29%; hazard ratio 0.89, 95% CI 0.39-2.02; P=.78) over 12 weeks. Conclusions The adaptive mobile app intervention, which focused on promoting self-monitoring and self-management, improved the MLHFQ at 6 weeks but did not sustain its effects at 12 weeks. No effect was seen on HF self-management measured by self-report. Further research is needed to enhance engagement in the app for a longer period and to determine if the app can reduce HF readmissions in a larger study. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03149510; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03149510

Objective To explore community pharmacists’ continuing education, counseling and communication practices, attitudes and barriers in relation to pediatric asthma management. Setting Community pharmacies in Michigan, United States. Methods Between July and September 2015 a convenience sample of community pharmacists was recruited from southeastern Michigan and asked to complete a structured, self-reported questionnaire. The questionnaire elucidated information on 4 general domains relating to pharmacists’ pediatric asthma management including: (1) guidelines and continuing education (CE); (2) counseling and medicines; (3) communication and self-management practices; (4) attitudes and barriers to practice. Regression analyses were conducted to determine predictors towards pharmacists’ confidence/frequency of use of communication/counseling strategies. Main outcome measure Confidence in counseling skills around asthma. Results 105 pharmacists completed the study questionnaire. Fifty-four percent of pharmacists reported participating in asthma related CE in the past year. Over 70% of pharmacists reported confidence in general communication skills, while a lower portion reported confidence in engaging in higher order self-management activities that involved tailoring the regimen (58%), decision-making (50%) and setting short-term (47%) and long-term goals (47%) with the patient and caregiver for managing asthma at home. Pharmacists who reported greater use of recommended communication/self-management strategies were more likely to report confidence in implementing these communication/self-management strategies when counseling caregivers and children with asthma [Beta (B) Estimate 0.58 SE (0.08), p

PURPOSE: Cases of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) under-reporting have been sporadically described in the literature, but no studies have focused on actively examining this behavior. Our primary aim was to identify women who purposefully under-reported CIPN, along with reasons for doing so. A secondary aim was to explore factors enabling or hindering communication of CIPN to clinicians. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women with breast cancer who had received paclitaxel in a prospective observational study. The interview guide was developed based on factors hypothesized to influence side effect disclosure to clinicians. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically content analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty-four women were interviewed. Three main themes emerged from the analysis: 1) enablers of CIPN reporting (e.g., positive relationships with the oncology team, sufficient appointment time, existence of alternative communication channels to office visits, expectation of CIPN as a side effect); 2) deterrents to CIPN reporting (e.g., perception of need to complete the full course of therapy, fear of treatment discontinuation, lack of knowledge of long-term consequences of CIPN); and 3) balancing survival versus functional impairment due to CIPN. Women prioritized efficacy over CIPN until physical functioning was meaningfully affected. No patients reported purposeful CIPN under-reporting, but three women admitted having considered doing so. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the lack of evidence of CIPN withholding, women considered both the effectiveness and the toxicity of paclitaxel treatment, as well as beliefs about treatment and long-term consequences of CIPN and relationship with the oncology team, when deciding whether to report CIPN symptoms.

The appropriateness of term limits for administrative appointments is a subject of much discussion, not just within pharmacy programs, but in organizations of all types. The prospect of term limits for involves a wide variety of important organizational issues, including succession planning, institutional memory, strategic decision-making, and concepts regarding leadership styles overall. This paper examines both sides of the debate regarding the appropriateness of term limits for administrative appointments. Arguments supporting term limits include the ability for strategic changes in the diversity of leaders as well as a more focused effort on continuous quality improvement. The arguments against term limits focus around the need for stability and the time involved in the development of effective leaders.

Purpose Discrepancies between clinicians’ assessment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and patient-reported outcomes (PRO) have been described, though the underlying reasons are unknown. Our objective was to identify potential patient-specific factors associated with under-describing of CIPN to clinicians in women with non-metastatic breast cancer treated with paclitaxel. Methods Patients enrolled in an observational study (n = 60) completed weekly CIPN PRO using the EORTC CIPN20. Clinician-documented CIPN using the NCI CTCAE were abstracted from the electronic medical record and paired with CIPN20 data at weeks 7 and 10. Patients were classified as under-describers if their CIPN20 was above the 80th percentile of the CIPN20 distribution for that CTCAE grade from an independent clinical trial (N08CA). Demographics, Assessment of Survivor Concerns (ASC), Trust in Oncologist Scale (TiOS), and health literacy assessment were collected post-treatment via survey. Repeated measures cumulative logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with under-describing CIPN. Results Forty-two women completed the survey (response rate 70%). Three and 9 patients were categorized as under-describers at weeks 7 and 10, respectively. Women who were not working (OR = 9.00, 95%CI 1.06–76.15), had lower income (OR = 7.04, 95%CI 1.5–32.99), and displayed higher trust in their oncologist’s competence (OR = 1.29, 95%CI 1.03–1.62 for a 0.1-unit increase in score) were more likely to under-describe CIPN symptoms. Conclusions This preliminary study identified non-working status, low income and trust in oncologist’s competence as potential factors influencing under-description of CIPN to the clinical team. Further work is needed to clarify these relationships and test additional factors., Highlights • This pilot study examined factors associated with under-describing of neuropathy. • Patient-reported and clinician-documented neuropathy severity were compared. • Non-working status and low income were associated with neuropathy under-describing. • Trust in oncologist’s competence was associated with neuropathy under-describing. • Recording patient-clinician interactions would confirm under-describing behavior.

Background Medicare Part D medication therapy management (MTM) includes an annual comprehensive medication review (CMR) as a strategy to mitigate suboptimal medication use in older adults. Objectives To describe the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries who were eligible, offered, and received a CMR in 2013 and 2014 and identify potential disparities. Methods This nationally representative cross-sectional study used a 20% random sample of Medicare Part A, B, and D data linked with Part D MTM files. A total of 5,487,343 and 5,822,188 continuously enrolled beneficiaries were included in 2013 and 2014, respectively. CMR use was examined among a subset of 620,164 and 669,254 of these beneficiaries enrolled in the MTM program in 2013 and 2014. Main measures were MTM eligibility, CMR offer, and CMR receipt. The Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Use informed covariates selected. Results In 2013 and 2014, 505,658 (82%) and 649,201 (97%) MTM eligible beneficiaries were offered a CMR, respectively. Among those, CMR receipt increased from 81,089 (16%) in 2013 to 119,181 (18%) in 2014. The mean age of CMR recipients was 75 years (±7) and the majority were women, White, and without low-income status. In 2014, lower odds of CMR receipt were associated with increasing age (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.994–0.995), male sex (OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.926–0.951), being any non-White race/ethnicity except Black, dual-Medicaid status (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.626–0.650), having a hospitalization (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.839–0.893) or emergency department visit (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.658–0.686), and number of comorbidities (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.896–0.905). Conclusions CMR offers and completion rates have increased, but disparities in CMR receipt by age, sex, race, and dual-Medicaid status were evident. Changes to MTM targeting criteria and CMR offer strategies may be warranted to address disparities.

PURPOSE Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for symptom monitoring during cancer therapy have been shown to have a positive impact on outcomes. These findings have primarily been shown for patients receiving intravenous chemotherapy. In addition, there is known discordance between physician reporting of symptoms and patient self-report. This initiative sought to describe patient-reported symptom burden and medication adherence and to indicate the degree of PROM results being discussed with the provider as indicated by documentation in the medical record for patients taking oral oncolytic therapy. METHODS The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium (MOQC) PROM, which included symptom ratings, medication adherence, and patient confidence in self-management, was completed during outpatient visits and compared with corresponding data documented in the electronic medical record (EMR). RESULTS There were 82 completed PROMs. Approximately half included at least one symptom rated as severe (46%). Sixty-five percent of reported severe symptoms were documented in the EMR. Patient-reported moderate-to-severe pain was most likely to be documented in the EMR (100%), whereas patient-reported moderate-to-severe depression and anxiety were least likely to be documented (21%). Of the total symptoms documented, grading of symptom severity matched that of the patients’ own report for 11% of severe symptoms. Adherence to oral oncolytics was excellent for 63% of patients, and patient adherence was documented in 7% of provider notes. CONCLUSION Patients frequently reported moderate-to-severe symptoms, and approximately 40% of patients reported nonadherence. Clinician report (documented in the EMR) of the patient symptom burden, symptom severity, and adherence to oral oncolytic therapy was not consistent with the patients’ self-report. Use of a PROM for patients taking oral oncolytics has the opportunity to improve symptom management and medication adherence.

BACKGROUND Antidepressants are used by primary care providers to treat a variety of conditions, including (but not limited to) depression and anxiety. A trial-and-error approach is typically used to identify effective therapy, as treatment efficacy and safety can vary based on the response, which is affected by certain gene types. Pharmacokinetic pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing provides phenotypic classification of individuals as poor, intermediate, extensive, and ultrarapid CYP450 metabolizers, providing information for optimal drug selection. OBJECTIVE The objective of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of PGx testing when used after starting a new antidepressant medication. METHODS We are conducting a pilot study with physicians from 6 Department of Family Medicine clinics at the University of Michigan who are willing to use PGx test results to manage antidepressant medication use. From enrolled physicians, patients were recruited to participate in a 6-month randomized, wait-list controlled trial in which patient participants newly prescribed an antidepressant had PGx testing and were randomized equally to have the results released to their primary care physician as soon as results were available or after 3 months. Patients were excluded if they had been taking the antidepressant for more than 4 weeks or if they had undergone PGx testing in the past. Physician participants completed a baseline survey to assess demographics, as well as knowledge, feasibility, and acceptability of PGx testing for this population. At the conclusion of the study, physician participants will complete a survey to assess knowledge, satisfaction, feasibility, acceptability, perceived effectiveness, and barriers to widespread adoption of PGx testing. Patient participants will complete a baseline, 3-month, and 6-month assessment, and control patient participants will have an additional 9-month assessment. Data collected will include the reason for antidepressant use, self-reported medication adherence, side effects, patient health questionnaire 8-item depression scale, generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale, 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey, work status or changes, and physician and emergency department visits. PGx knowledge and perceptions (including acceptability and feasibility) as well as demographic information will also be obtained. RESULTS We recruited 23 physician participants between November 2017 and January 2019, and 52 patient participants between January 2018 and April 2019. Currently, all physician and patient participants have been recruited, and we expect data collection to conclude in January 2020. CONCLUSIONS This study will examine the preliminary effectiveness of PGx testing after treatment initiation and determine the feasibility and acceptability of PGx testing for use in primary care. Through this study, we expect to demonstrate the benefit of PGx testing and lay the foundation for translating this approach into use within primary care. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03270891; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03270891 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) RR1-10.2196/13848

Background Antidepressants are used by primary care providers to treat a variety of conditions, including (but not limited to) depression and anxiety. A trial-and-error approach is typically used to identify effective therapy, as treatment efficacy and safety can vary based on the response, which is affected by certain gene types. Pharmacokinetic pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing provides phenotypic classification of individuals as poor, intermediate, extensive, and ultrarapid CYP450 metabolizers, providing information for optimal drug selection. Objective The objective of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of PGx testing when used after starting a new antidepressant medication. Methods We are conducting a pilot study with physicians from 6 Department of Family Medicine clinics at the University of Michigan who are willing to use PGx test results to manage antidepressant medication use. From enrolled physicians, patients were recruited to participate in a 6-month randomized, wait-list controlled trial in which patient participants newly prescribed an antidepressant had PGx testing and were randomized equally to have the results released to their primary care physician as soon as results were available or after 3 months. Patients were excluded if they had been taking the antidepressant for more than 4 weeks or if they had undergone PGx testing in the past. Physician participants completed a baseline survey to assess demographics, as well as knowledge, feasibility, and acceptability of PGx testing for this population. At the conclusion of the study, physician participants will complete a survey to assess knowledge, satisfaction, feasibility, acceptability, perceived effectiveness, and barriers to widespread adoption of PGx testing. Patient participants will complete a baseline, 3-month, and 6-month assessment, and control patient participants will have an additional 9-month assessment. Data collected will include the reason for antidepressant use, self-reported medication adherence, side effects, patient health questionnaire 8-item depression scale, generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale, 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey, work status or changes, and physician and emergency department visits. PGx knowledge and perceptions (including acceptability and feasibility) as well as demographic information will also be obtained. Results We recruited 23 physician participants between November 2017 and January 2019, and 52 patient participants between January 2018 and April 2019. Currently, all physician and patient participants have been recruited, and we expect data collection to conclude in January 2020. Conclusions This study will examine the preliminary effectiveness of PGx testing after treatment initiation and determine the feasibility and acceptability of PGx testing for use in primary care. Through this study, we expect to demonstrate the benefit of PGx testing and lay the foundation for translating this approach into use within primary care. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03270891; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03270891 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR1-10.2196/13848

e18760 Background: Improvements in treatment options for multiple myeloma (MM) have led to double-digit increases in 5-year survival rates over the past 40 years. Such extended survival has increased emphasis for the management of comorbid chronic conditions. Initial analyses suggest that oral anticancer agent (OAA) initiation for MM may correspond to significant reductions in adherence to chronic disease medications. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adults diagnosed with and being treated for MM between 2013-2018 using data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters databases and a 20% sample of Medicare claims data. Adults (18 years and older) were included if they were diagnosed with and had at least two claims for an OAA indicated for MM, had continuous enrollment for 12 months both before and after OAA initiation, and were previously diagnosed with two chronic conditions and had prescription fills for select chronic conditions. Medication adherence was determined using the proportion of days covered (PDC) metric and was compared for the 12 months before and after the OAA initiation by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, McNemar’s tests, and difference-in-differences (DinD) models. Results: A slight majority of the 2,765 patients (total N from both databases) were male (52.3%), and hypertension (94.5%) and hyperlipidemia (69.2%) were the most common comorbid conditions. Mean OAA adherence in the first year of therapy was 55.8% (SD: 23.5) and 63.5% (SD: 26.9) for commercial and Medicare patients, respectively. PDCs for comorbid therapies declined in the first year after OAA initiation, irrespective of payer (table), and the proportion adherent to these therapies (PDC > 80%) also declined consistently. OAA adherence tended to align with the direction of changes in comorbid therapy adherence with those nonadherent to their OAA (PDC < 80%) demonstrating general declines in comorbid therapy PDCs post-OAA initiation (p

TPS1587 Background: Non-adherence to oral anticancer agents (OAA) has been reported among 30% of individuals. Often, individuals with cancer are not just managing their new OAA but also medications to treat multiple chronic conditions (MCC). Multiple factors contribute to the extent patients on OAAs and MCC medications adhere to therapy. The objective of this study is to improve medication, symptom, and disease management of patients with hematological malignancies and MCC through care coordination between pharmacists. Methods: Design. This is a multi-center prospective single arm pilot study at two academic medical centers in Michigan and Tennessee. Subjects. Ninety participants will be recruited, 60 from site 1 and 30 from site 2. Inclusion criteria are: adults > 18 years, diagnosed with and initiating oral treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or multiple myeloma, diagnoses of at least 2 chronic conditions, where one is type 2 diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, depression/anxiety, gastroesophageal reflux disease, hyperlipidemia, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, taking at least two chronic medications, and able to provide electronic consent. Exclusion criteria are: inability to speak English, and diagnosis of type 1 diabetes or HIV. Intervention. Participants will complete two Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for their OAA that will be reviewed by the oncology pharmacist, with follow-up to the care team if needed. Participants will be scheduled for a Comprehensive Medication Review with a primary care pharmacist for up to two visits for their chronic medications. The intervention over 2 months, and the oncology and primary care pharmacists communicate via electronic health record about medications, symptoms, and disease control. Outcomes. The primary endpoints are (a) dose-adjusted adherence by proportion days covered (PDC) for the OAA and (b) PDC for chronic condition medications, assessed using 6 months of prescription claims. Data will be collected from patients using REDCap surveys and abstracted data will be entered into REDCap. Implementation by pharmacists and patient acceptability will be examined. Analysis. The association of OAA and chronic medication adherence (PDC) will be examined via correlation. Participant demographics,clinical characteristics, and the symptom experience from the PROM will be described. Using CMR results, medication problems, recommendations, and changes will be provided. Program implementation will be assessed and patient perceptions obtained from post-CMR interviews. A joint display for the quantitative and qualitative data for feasibility, appropriateness, and acceptability from pharmacists will be completed. Results: Screening and recruitment has begun. Clinical trial information: NCT04595851 and NCT04663100.

The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium (MOQC) is a continuous quality improvement collaborative seeking to improve oncology care in Michigan, including for patients taking oral chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between patient activation, confidence to self-manage side effects, and adherence to oral oncolytics to inform future oncology care. A multicenter cross-sectional observational study was conducted using an online survey to examine patient activation (patient activation measure, PAM), health literacy, symptom burden (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, ESAS), confidence to self-manage side effects (fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea), and adherence to oral oncolytics. Inclusion criteria were patients taking an oral oncolytic for at least 1 month. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression were performed to evaluate relationships between the variables. A total of 125 respondents, mean (SD) age 66.2 (13.6), 57.7% female, and 95.1% Caucasian completed the survey. The mean (SD) PAM score was 65.0 (18.0). Confidence to manage fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea was associated with higher activation, and confidence to self-manage fatigue and diarrhea were associated with higher health literacy. About 30% of participants reported some level of non-adherence to oral oncolytics, and those who experienced side effects (Fisher’s exact test p = 0.033) and with shorter length of therapy (t test p = 0.027) were significantly more likely to be non-adherent. These findings show that there is room for improvement across practices involved with MOQC with regard to supporting patients taking oral oncolytics. Patients will need to improve their activation levels, and oncology clinics will need to create new workflows in order to enhance self-care management ability for patients taking oral oncolytics.

Background Text messages can improve medication adherence and outcomes in several conditions. For this study, experts developed text messages addressing determinants of medication adherence: disease beliefs, medication necessity, medication concerns, and forgetfulness, as well as positive reinforcement messages for patients who were adherent. Objectives To validate expert-developed text messages to address medication non-adherence with a group of non-researchers. Methods A two-wave, card-sorting activity was conducted with students and staff at the University of Michigan. In the first wave, 40 participants grouped 32 messages addressing barriers for medication adherence (disease beliefs, medication necessity, medication concerns, and forgetfulness) according to their perceived relationship. Messages with poor grouping agreement were deleted or modified. In the second wave, positive reinforcement messages were developed and tested along with the previous categories (36 messages) by 37 participants. Similarity and cluster analyses were used to assess agreement between experts and participants. Results In the first card-sorting wave, participants grouped messages into between 2 and 13 separate categories. Similarity analysis showed four groupings of messages, however, some had an agreement below 50% and clusters appeared dispersed. In the second wave, and after messages being edited, participants grouped the messages into between 4 and 9 categories. Five groups (now including positive reinforcement messages) were identified with higher agreement in the similarity and cluster analyses. Conclusions The structure of expert-developed text messages to address medication adherence key barriers was confirmed. Messages will be used in future research to determine their impact on affecting medication adherence to anti-hypertensive medications using a reinforcement learning controlled text messaging service.

Objective Approximately 30% of individuals admit that their medication nonadherence is due to forgetfulness, and 20%-30% of new prescriptions are never picked up. The primary objective of this study is to determine the impact of a text messaging reminder service on time to prescription pickup in an independent community pharmacy setting. Methods We conducted a retrospective evaluation using a pre-post design involving 42 individuals who voluntarily enrolled in a text messaging reminder service. The periods 3 months before and 3 months after the initiation of the service were compared. Text messages were sent to individuals when their prescriptions were ready to be picked up. Time to prescription pickup was the primary dependent variable, and the number of medications, distance from the pharmacy, age, and sex were examined. In addition, we sent a text message inquiring about satisfaction with the service. Results In an analysis of 487 prescription pickup instances, 212 occurred before and 275 after the service for the 42 enrolled individuals. The average time to prescription pickup significantly improved by 12.3 hours (P = 0.001) after implementing the service. After adjusting for age, sex, distance to the pharmacy, number of medications per instance, and number of text messages per instance, the time to prescription pickup improved significantly by 15.8 hours (P = 0.03) after implementation. Thirty-three individuals (79%) reported satisfaction with the text messaging service, whereas 9 patients (21%) did not respond to the survey. Individuals living between 2 and 5 miles from the pharmacy and those 50-64 years old were less likely to respond to the satisfaction survey compared with the other distance and age categories. Conclusion A text message reminder service significantly improved the time to prescription pickup by almost 16 hours in an independent pharmacy. Overall, individuals were satisfied with the service.

Purpose: The shift from infusion to oral oncolytic therapy presents challenges to oncology practitioners. The purpose of this study was to describe how a statewide quality-improvement collaborative can enhance quality of care for patients receiving oral oncolytic therapy. Methods: The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium hosted a series of learning sessions focused on oral oncolytic quality improvement, providing multiple resources to oncology community practices. The first five participating practices reported which of the evidence-based Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium resources provided were implemented at their site. They also performed prepost self-assessments in October 2013 and April 2015 and another in December 2017 to assess sustainability. Concordance with the ASCO Quality Oncology Practice Initiative oral chemotherapy standards, including documentation (five measures), patient education (seven measures), and follow-up/monitoring (four measures), was compared. Results: All practices showed improvement between 2013 and 2015 in documentation (32% to 88%; P = .03), patient education (37% to 100%; P could not be calculated), and monitoring (40% to 80%; P > .2). Overall, a significant improvement in concordance was observed (36% to 91%; P = .03). Use of resources from each practice varied, and practices that used more resources showed greater improvements. There was a slight decrease in overall concordance between 2015 and 2017, which was not found to be significant (91% to 84%; P = .53). Conclusion: Use of tools from a quality-improvement collaborative improved concordance with national standards of care. Large-scale deployment of this model program may provide a clinically efficient and effective mechanism to enhance widespread change.